Natalie Morales on Recognizing the Early Signs of Alzheimer's: ‘The Earlier You Take Action, the Better'
Before someone gets an Alzheimer's diagnosis, it can be hard to know if certain quirks and off-feeling moments are normal signs of aging, or if they're pointing to something bigger. That's something broadcast journalist and TV host Natalie Morales knows firsthand.
Her mother-in-law, Kay Rhodes, was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's in her mid-50s and lived with the disease for 17 years until her death in 2014. "I think people chalk some of [these little moments] to, 'maybe it's menopause, she has menopause brain.' But this was clearly something much bigger," she tells Parade.
Morales' heartbreaking experience with her mother-in-law is why she's now so dedicated to helping people recognize early signs of Alzheimer's, a disease that impacts over 7 million people across the U.S. To get her message across, she teamed up with Eli Lilly to help encourage others to talk to their doctor early if they're experiencing memory and thinking issues-because the sooner you act, the more options may be available.
Below, Morales shares the key moment that made her realize something was truly wrong with Kay, the path to her diagnosis, treatment options and what to do if you recognize these signs in yourself or a loved one.
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Early Symptoms and a Pivotal Moment
According to Morales, Kay's early symptoms were pretty textbook: memory and thinking issues and difficulty completing familiar tasks. "For example, even just going for a walk in the neighborhood, she would start to lose herself and couldn't figure out where she was, and neighbors would have to help her back," she says. "She started to show symptoms of anxiety, and as the day would progress, a little bit of that 'sundown syndrome,' where she would get exhausted and anxious at night, would go to bed really early. She couldn't complete sentences and was always repeating herself-those usual signs."
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But then, there was an "aha" moment that made Morales and her husband realize something was very wrong.
"We were getting married in Denver, where my husband's family is, so we sent the wedding bands there, and she hid them because of a little bit of that paranoia and anxiety," she tells Parade. "She was hiding a lot of things, including canned vegetables and fruits in the closet. People don't realize those are some of the things that happen, as they become so concerned and scared about the fact that they're forgetting who they are, where they are, they start to do little things to try to sort of leave little breadcrumbs of that existence."
Kay hid the wedding bands so well, Morales says, that she thought she threw them out.
"She thought she put them in a cereal box and threw them out. It wasn't until, sadly, after she died, my father-in-law was cleaning through her drawers and found them in the back of the sock drawer."
The Journey to a Diagnosis
Kay's early cognitive tests were somewhat inconclusive. "These early cognitive assessments are not that difficult to pass in those early stages," Morales says. "Now there's so much more advanced testing. There are blood tests and diagnostics that can find and diagnose early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease so much earlier. We wish we had that back in our day, but this was 26 years ago."
She finally got an official diagnosis at The Mayo Clinic, about two years after symptoms started to appear.
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Morales emphasizes that these days, there are so many more options for treatment than there were back then-like Kisunla® by Eli Lilly, a monthly intravenous infusion and an amyloid-targeting therapy approved for appropriate adult patients with early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease.
"It's something I recommend people talk with their doctors about to make sure it's the right option for them," Morales says. "There are some side effects, as there are with most therapies, but it has proven to be very effective in those with early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease. It targets the amyloid plaque and slows that progression down, so hopefully there are more good days rather than tough days for those who have family members or loved ones going through it."
What Morales Does for Her Own Brain Health
Having seen the heartbreaking effects of Alzheimer's firsthand, Morales is very proactive about her own brain health.
"I'm constantly challenging myself to do new things. Besides work, I have a very involved life physically. I exercise daily and eat right," she tells Parade. "But I also do simple things-like brushing my teeth with my left hand when I usually brush it with my right. I try not to do things the ordinary way, to make it a little different each time."
She also makes sure to stay socially engaged, knowing how important that is for brain health. "I'm very involved in my kids' world, and I have my dogs," she shares. "Community matters so much. That's really the key, along with the physical piece."
When To Talk to a Doctor About Cognitive Symptoms
If you start to feel, or see in others-whether it's your parents, your family members or yourself-that you're having more and more memory and thinking issues, and difficulty completing familiar tasks, that's a sign that you should talk to your doctor, Morales says.
"For example, if you're holding your car key but you can't remember what it's for. Something you've done so often, but all of a sudden you're looking at it like, what is this? Those are things to bring to your doctor," she notes. "I think it's really important to have these conversations early, because early action means more potential opportunity for therapies like Kisunla."
She also emphasizes how much Alzheimer's treatment has improved, and the sooner you talk to your doctor, the better.
"The outlook is much more positive than it used to be. There are wonderful treatment and therapy options that could be available to you. Yes, it's scary, but I think what's scarier is the not knowing and not knowing how to tackle it," she says.
She adds that there are so many resources and different kinds of treatment options now that there weren't before: "Advancements are being made every day. Don't be afraid-tackle the future head on. The earlier you get involved and take action, the more likely you'll have a better experience."
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Sources:
- Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures. Alzheimer's Association.
- Natalie Morales, broadcast journalist and TV host
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This story was originally published June 26, 2026 at 10:50 AM.